Blog 5
Politics in the United States thus
far in 2012 has been a tumultuous ride between the Democratic and Republican
Party nominations, and now the Democratic and Republican presidential
debates. With Mitt Romney running as the
Republican nominee, many may ask if all Mormons are Republicans. Many may question whether there is a Mormon
political identity. To answer this we
must look at political identities and where they stem from.
Identity is defined as “the ways that
individuals categorize themselves, with a resulting feeling of close emotional
association, arouse intense feelings of loyalty to this group.” (Class notes,
October 10, 2012). How do people
categorize themselves? For the majority of members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints they would usually first and foremost categorize
themselves, as “I am a Mormon”. With the
Mormon.org campaign of “I am a Mormon” LDS members are more commonly
categorizing themselves religiously first.
With this established we must recognize the two theories of political
identity: primordialism and constructivism.
Primordialism is defined as the identities that can become political that
are formed very early in life (Class Notes, October 10, 2012). Constructivism is defined as identities that
are malleable and can become politicized (Class Notes, October 10, 2012). Primordialism best describes the reason for
an LDS political identity.
There is an LDS political identity in the United States and the theory of primordialism best
describes the causes. Most members of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have been members their entire
lives and have parents or grandparents and so on who are members. For people in these cases it is easy to
identify that when someone is raised in the Church and have been taught the
same principles from their parents that their grandparents taught their
parents, their identity is formed very early on in life. It is statistically proven that most children
take on the political identities of their parents, and thus we see
primordialism at work. As children take
on the political views of their Republican Mormon parents, the pattern
continues through generations.
Due to the many standards and
beliefs Mormons hold, many Latter Day Saints believe the Republican party best
demonstrates their beliefs and standards.
As people convert and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, political views may or may not change. Because political identities can be instilled
from a young age, if people do change their political views when they convert
to the Church it is due to the new standards and beliefs and the thought that
the new party best represents what they now believe.
A story from the LATimes gives an
account of a young Mormon Democrat who “is a rare species. He's a Mormon
Democrat in Utah, a state where only 7% of Mormons are Democrats.” (LATimes,
2012). Through this article we see that
93% of Mormons in Utah are Republican.
Numbers of Mormon Republicans differ from state to state and are not as
concentrated as Utah, but the number of LDS Republicans compared to LDS
Democrats is overwhelming. This
statistic proves an LDS political identity that one party is more prominent
than the other, and the theory of primordialism supports and answers the “why”
to why there is an LDS political identity.
Although the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints is politically neutral, the members are politically
active. The majority of LDS members are
Republicans and this is the ideal political identity of Mormons. The political identity is rooted from
childhood. With the identity of being a
Mormon, the Republican Party best represents the beliefs and standards of most
members. The LDS Democrats can also be
explained with Primordialism, or the rare case when children do not take the
political beliefs of their parents.
Amber Goulding
Works Cited
Class
Notes, October 10, 2012, Identity, Political identity and theories.
I agree with you, there is an LDS political identity and primordialism best explains it.
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